Astitch
Windows (stylized as Wind'os until 1999) was a Canadian-American alternative metal band formed in Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1995, later further establishing itself in Jacksonville, Florida with the addition of new members. The band performed frequently with the likes of Powerman 5000, Nothingface and American Head Charge. They frequented Ozzfest between 2000 and 2003 and garnered fans from there. History The band formed in 1995 in Fredericton, New Brunswick as a metalcore band named Eurmom. Gwen Porter was the original lead vocalist but after the band abandoned the metalcore moniker, they brought on a new lead singer, Trina Riffin, to provide a cleaner delivery. Porter left the band soon after so she could finish school. The band decided to take on a new name. They originally wanted to go by Dear Loser, as a reference to the start of rejection letters from Sub Pop, but they decided against it due to the members feeling nobody would get the reference. They went with Windows due to a lack of better ideas. The band each dropped out of high school due to issues faced with one of their teachers, and encouragement from others. They took a trip to Jacksonville, Florida in an attempt to get their name across in the US and while there, they brought on bass player Melissa Mipson and keyboardist Tambry Ortiz. Mipson's cousin Thea was brought on through a recommendation, and she became the band's programmer and sampler. They garnered notoriety in Florida since they were one of the few alternative metal acts in the state, which was populated by teen pop bands and deemed Jacksonville to be their second hometown. They were originally signed to Shoreline Records who released their debut EP and LP, but left the label due to Windows moving to North America permanently, as well as an incident that left the band stranded on their tour bus, due to a lack of accommodations. They moved to the independent label DCide and also took up an offer to be on Wisdom Tree's vanity label Final Notice, ultimately landing with Interscope too since they owned a stake in the latter label. After garnering enough popularity, they decided to expand to bigger labels, signing with TVT Records. In spite of letting go of the band, DCide still had a credit on the band's third LP stars since they were recording the album under them at the time and DCide formed a temporary partnership with TVT to pool resources so they could get the band’s name out and pay for touring expenses. Following the failure of their last album, TVT and Interscope dropped the band. In 2005, Riffin began complaining over frequent stomach pains and an inability to sleep. It soon came to light that she was a prominent drinker, keeping it secret by binging when the other members were out of commission. The band members realized that Riffin was suffering from something serious, as she had lower energy during interviews and after heavy performances, she was left exhausted. During the final stop on their Hollywood Invasion tour, following the conclusion of a performance, Riffin collapsed on stage and was rushed to the hospital. The band revealed that Riffin suffered from a Pancreatitis attack, but she was put back into stable condition. From then on, they remained active to interact with fans and oversee a greatest hits album. They broke up for good in 2009 Style The band started off as a powerviolence/hardcore group, but later switched to alternative metal. Until stars, the band primarily made songs about conspiracy theories and personal issues, but dropped it due to scrutiny from listeners on the former topic. One notable aspect about the band is their music videos and album covers, which were praised for their artistic complexity. The members were fairly private, rarely taking part in interviews from mainstream outlets. They were strongly opposed to celebrity culture and were picky on which bands they wished to associate with, primarily going for bands they formed a personal bond to or have strong non-mainstream views of their own. Genres the band were classified under included industrial metal, hard rock, alternative metal, heavy metal and nu metal. Riffin claims that Lynn Strait of Snot, Matt Holt of Nothingface, Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and Layne Staley of Alice in Chains are her prime influences. Feud With Rick Rubin In 2017, Riffin made a post on Twitter decrying producer Rick Rubin.Riffin's distaste for Rubin resurfaced after he produced the Eminem album Revival. Riffin came out as a Donald Trump supporter and made a spiteful remark toward Rubin's involvement on the album as well as one toward Eminem. Members Trina Riffin: lead vocals (1996-2007) Gwen Porter: lead vocals (1995-1996) Ken Starr: lead guitar (1995-2007) Ezekiel Hennessy: rhythm guitar (1995-2007) Darryl Costanzo: drums (1995-2007) Melissa Mipson: bass guitar (1998-2007) Tambry Ortiz: keyboard (1998-2007) Thea Mipson: samples, electronics (1998-2007) Releases Demos * Eurmom (1996) EPs * Wildside (1997) Albums * Limited Time Offer (1998) * Take the E (2000) * stars (2001) * Synergy (2003) Compilations * Windows/Nothingface Sampler (2000) * Stop or I'll Make an Unauthorized Greatest Hits Compilation (2005)